AEG livid over leaked emails, Jacksons allegedly blamed

Lawyers at AEG Live are very pissed off about those Michael Jackson related emails that surfaced in the LA Times this weekend, which is no surprise really, they didn’t exactly portray executives at the live music firm in a great way. And, if US gossip man Roger Friedman is to be believed, the live entertainments giant is blaming the Jackson family for the leak.

As previously reported, the leaked emails dated mainly from 2009 and showed that AEG execs and various people linked to the then planned Jackson ‘This Is It’ residency were very concerned about the singer’s health, and his ability to undertake a gruelling fifty night stint at The O2. This ran contrary to the live firm’s public stance at the time, ie that Jackson was it good health and excited to be undertaking such a major live project. The emails also included AEG Live President Randy Phillips giving a vote of confidence to Conrad Murray, the doctor caring for Jackson at the time, and the medic subsequently convicted for causing the late king of pop’s untimely death due to negligent treatment.

It was thought the various emails published by the LA Times were linked to a legal battle between the live firm and Lloyds Of London, the insurance company that insured part of the fated ‘This Is It’ residency. Lloyds has been fighting AEG in the courts to get out of paying up on the policy attached to the cancelled shows, mainly by arguing that AEG and Jackson failed to declare the various health issues both were allegedly aware of in relation to the singer.

However, Friedman suggests that the emails are actually from sealed evidence attached to the other big outstanding lawsuit relating to MJ’s death, Katherine Jackson’s action against AEG. She claims that the live music firm should accept liability for the negligent treatment administered by Murray, as the company paid his bills. AEG is arguing that Jackson himself chose Murray, and that the doctor basically reported directly to the singer rather than the ‘This Is It’ promoter.

Freidman alleges on Showbiz411: “My sources say that the Jacksons, desperate for money after their failed attempt to snatch Katherine Jackson this summer, are looking for sympathy in the court of public opinion. I’m told they selectively pulled a few emails from hundreds and turned them over to the Los Angeles Times in an effort to make AEG Live look guilty of somehow forcing Michael to perform 50 concerts in London. The truth when the totality of the emails is uncovered in court will be quite different”.

Whether members of the Jackson family really leaked the emails to the LA Times, or whether AEG believe that to be the case, we don’t know, though it does seem likely that the handful of emails made public were deliberately selected to portray AEG as the bad guys. Whether we’ll get to see a wider selection of emails when either the Lloyds or Katherine Jackson cases get to court, remains to be seen.